


luna and noctis foil their own wedding: a gay romantic comedy

by redsuns



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Defying Fate, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Falling In Love, Final Fantasy Versus XIII Concepts, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Road Trips, Slow Burn, Trans Gladiolus Amicitia, by which i mean etro. hey girlie, fast burn for the lesbians, i will build crowe/cindy/luna by myself from the ground up if i have to, slow burn for the chocobros, to a certain degree. hehehe, trans amicitia siblings actually!!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:20:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28948821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redsuns/pseuds/redsuns
Summary: Luna’s clandestine exit from Tenebrae and consequently from the watchful eyes of Niflheim’s Empire means that she is now free to travel alongside Noctis on this trip, so long as everyone involved keeps a low profile. This is beneficial to Luna because Noctis is her closest friend, and she has not seen him in over a decade, and she would enjoy spending time with him and his friends. This is beneficial to everyone else because Luna and Noctis are betrothed. The people of Lucis and Tenebrae and Eos as a whole could use the joy and distraction that comes with a wedding, particularly one so high-profile.Of course, the people of Eos do not know that the Oracle of Tenebrae and the Prince of Lucis are both very, extremely, astoundingly gay, and that they have no real desire to be married to each other despite being best friends.Luna has chosen to ignore this fact, instead doing her very best to think of this as a road trip with friends, an opportunity to experience the world in a way that she has not been able to before in her travels as Oracle.
Relationships: Crowe Altius/Cindy Aurum/Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret & Noctis Lucis Caelum, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> another passion project fic? ladies and gentlemen he's a madman!!!!
> 
> don't have much to say abt this in terms of starting-off notes other than i only have a vague plot and this is mostly a thing i'm doing for fun in between like actual responsibilities. that being said i really do want to stick with it. also i will admit i haven't played ffxv. i'm very bad at video games but also very attached to these characters. apologies. 
> 
> rated t for language and some fantasy violence — fighting monsters and the like. any potential content warnings that come up will be mentioned in the author's notes of whatever chapter they show up in and will also be tagged accordingly. i don't think there's gonna be anything that comes up because this is supposed to be a fun and lighthearted fic, but like just so everyone knows.

Hammerhead Garage is perhaps one of Lunafreya’s most favourite places in the world, never mind the fact that she’s only been here for about a day and a half. Cid Sophiar is an old friend of King Regis’s. Crowe Altius, Luna’s escort-slash-bodyguard from the Kingsglaive, sticks close to Luna’s side. Cindy Aurum, Cid’s granddaughter and the head mechanic at the garage, starts showing Luna how to do basic maintenance on a car — demonstrates on Prince Noctis’s own car, which King Regis had sent ahead to Hammerhead discreetly for Crowe and Luna. Noctis himself, along with his retinue, are set to arrive in a few days. Luna has kept in touch with him with Umbra’s help. The last message ferried to her by the messenger dog told her that Noctis is making preparations to discreetly depart from Insomnia by tomorrow morning, before the delegation from Niflheim arrives to treat with the Lucian government. It seems, according to Noctis, that he is not the only child of a high-ranking official to be sent out of the city for this event — Gladiolus Amicitia, son of the King’s Shield and Shield to the Prince himself, is being sent away with Noctis, and Gladiolus’s younger sister, Iris, has been sent to Lestallum at least for the duration of Niflheim’s diplomatic visit. 

Of course, Noctis’s reasons for being sent away are not solely because of the soon-to-arrive presence of Emperor Aldercapt in the Citadel. The Prince is now twenty years old, and his father has decided it is time for him to go on a trip around Lucis for his coming-of-age. 

(“Technically I came of age when I turned eighteen,” Noctis wrote in one of his letters to her, “so I don’t know why this is called a ‘coming-of-age’ trip. Should just be a trip. A ‘seeing-the-kingdom’ trip, maybe.”

“Ah, yes,” Luna had written back. “‘Seeing-the-kingdom’ trip just rolls off the tongue so nicely. Like butter, the way the words just melt in one’s mouth.”

Noctis’s response had consisted of only two words, written in capitals: “OKAY SMARTASS!”)

Luna’s clandestine exit from Tenebrae and consequently from the watchful eyes of Niflheim’s Empire means that she is now free to travel alongside Noctis on this trip, so long as everyone involved keeps a low profile. This is beneficial to Luna because Noctis is her closest friend, and she has not seen him in over a decade, and she would enjoy spending time with him and his friends. This is beneficial to everyone else because Luna and Noctis are betrothed — it was a fairly unofficial thing for a long period of time, but their engagement has become fact after Niflheim proposed their wedding as one of the conditions of the peace treaty. Never mind that, as Crowe told Luna on their way to Hammerhead, the peace treaty is likely a farce. The people of Lucis and Tenebrae and Eos as a whole could use the joy and distraction that comes with a wedding, particularly one so high-profile, and a wedding could still be used to forge an alliance between Lucis and Niflheim, or to bring Tenebrae under Lucis’s protection. 

Of course, the people of Eos do not know that the Oracle of Tenebrae and the Prince of Lucis are both very, extremely, astoundingly gay, and that they have no real desire to be married to each other despite being best friends. 

Nevertheless. Luna is in Hammerhead because she is meant to travel with Noctis and his retinue across Lucis so that she and Noctis might get to know each other better face-to-face, in preparation for their marriage. She has chosen to ignore this fact, instead doing her very best to think of this as a road trip with friends, an opportunity to experience the world in a way that she has not been able to before in her travels as Oracle. 

Despite the circumstances of their reunion, Noctis’s face is a welcome sight. The Prince and his friends show up in Hammerhead physically pushing their car. While Cindy looks over the vehicle, chiding the boys for their treatment of her (“A car’s always a ‘she’,” she said, when Luna had asked, “‘cause she’s always a pretty girl.”), Luna finds herself running into Noctis’s arms and letting him lift her clear off the ground — only for an instant, mindful of his old back injury, but his delighted laugh and the swoop of weightlessness in her stomach are worth it. She knows how it must look like to anyone except the two of them: two lovers reuniting after years apart, but the long and short of it is that Noctis is her friend and Luna has missed him dearly and squeezing the absolute life out of him currently seems to be the best way to convey that to him.

“Luna, you’re gonna break my back,” Noctis says, laughing even as he returns the force of her hug. Luna relinquishes her hold on him just enough to step back and look at his face, take in the smile and the brightness of his eyes and the silly way he wears his hair. 

“It’s just good to see you, Noctis,” she says. 

Noctis’s expression softens. “It’s good to see you, too.” They’ve sent each other photographs with their letters, but those pale in comparison to the real thing. The Noctis present in photographs can’t laugh the way the real Noctis does, can’t squawk indignantly when Luna lifts him up in her own hug the way the real Noctis does, and Noctis’s presence fills something in her heart that she didn’t know was empty until this moment. 

This is her best friend and her closest confidant, and Luna has missed him so, so, so much. 

One of Noctis’s companions clears their throat, and Luna finally steps back fully to address the three of them. The one who caught her attention was Gladiolus, who Luna recognizes from his sheer height and the tattoo peeking out from his open shirt. Flanking him are a man in glasses who must be Ignis, and a blond man who must be Prompto. Luna bows her head just slightly and steps forward to greet them, shaking each of their hands in turn. 

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Lunafreya,” says Ignis, ducking his head slightly to look her directly in the eyes. 

“Please, call me Luna,” she says. “I insist. Or Lunafreya at the very least.”

Ignis offers her a small smile. “Very well then, Lunafreya.”

Prompto is much more nervous when she speaks to him, tripping over his words and blushing furiously when she says, “Noctis has told me much about you. It’s an honour to finally meet his best friend.” 

Gladiolus says, “If I’m calling you Luna, then you have to call me Gladio. It’s what my friends get to call me.” He throws in a wink for good measure, and Luna can’t help the loud, full-bodied laugh she lets out. His resulting smile tells her the wink was entirely a joke, but it does the job of putting her wholly at ease with Noctis’s friends, and she appreciates it. 

“How’s the car?” she asks, turning to Cindy. 

Cindy looks up from where she’s leaning over the popped hood, elbows deep in the engine already. “I’ll tell you what, it’s a crime these boys let anything happen to a beauty like this in the first place. Don’t know what the hell they did to bust the engine this bad, but don’t you worry for even a moment. I’ll be able to fix it. Might take some spare parts, though.” Luna likes the way Cindy’s accent curls around the words, turning each sentence into a bit of a drawl. Something about it feels comforting, safe. It helps, probably, that Cindy’s an expert at what she does, and her authority and knowledge seems to translate into the rest of her actions as well. 

“I really didn’t mean to!” Prompto exclaims. “It was driving just fine until it went kaput out of nowhere.” 

“It’ll be fine,” Luna reassures him. “Cindy’s very good at her job. In the meantime, all of you ought to get something to eat. There’s a diner here that serves just the most incredible food.”

The six of them settle into a booth at Takka’s — Noctis, his companions, Luna, and Crowe. Luna tries to get Cindy to come along with them, but Luna’s quickly learned that once Cindy gets started on a project there’s no pulling her away from it. She resolves instead to pick up another helping of whatever their group orders to bring to Cindy later. 

“Let’s figure out our resources,” Crowe says, leaning forward with her arms on the table. “I don’t know how much money the King sent you guys along with, but we’ve exhausted most of ours on the way here from Tenebrae.”

Ignis’s brows draw together. “There was only so much that could be discreetly withdrawn and converted. I think it's likely that we will have to find ways to earn more gil.”

Crowe and Ignis put their heads together to strategize and deal with the group’s finances. In the meantime, the large bowl of chili they’ve all ordered arrives at their table, and Luna picks up her spoon to dig in. 

“Oh, wow,” Prompto says, covering his mouth with one hand. “This is delicious!”

Gladio makes a grunt of agreement. “Iggy, you’ve gotta try this.” He scoops up a spoonful and holds it out to Ignis, one hand cupped under the spoon to catch anything that falls. Ignis pauses in his conversation with Crowe to look over and let Gladio feed him. Luna catches the subtle blush on his cheeks. Judging by the near-silent huff of laughter Crowe lets out (and isn’t it so wonderful, the way Luna has learned so quickly to pick up these things about this woman?) she notices, too. Luna glances at Noctis as well, intending to share a quiet moment of amusement, but sees that his eyes are fixed quite firmly on Ignis’s mouth. 

Well, then. 

Ignis clears his throat after swallowing. “That is quite delicious,” he says finally. “I’ll have to ask Takka for the recipe.”

Luna laughs. “Good luck getting it out of him,” she says. “You’ll need the blessings of all the Six before he’ll let you into his kitchen.”

Crowe nudges Luna with her elbow. “Or you could just start working for him.”

“Or that,” Luna agrees. At Noctis’s curious glance, she elaborates. “I’ve been helping replenish our finances by working for Takka part-time. He’s very nice and pays fairly, I do recommend it.”

“Wow, Luna,” Noctis says, grinning. “Bet you never thought you’d see the day.”

Luna shrugs. “I really can’t complain. It’s a new experience for me, and it is not without its challenges, but I’ve learned a lot in a very short time.” 

The bell above the door makes a  _ ding! _ Luna looks away from the table to see the group of hunters that have been renting the caravan at Hammerhead. 

“Speaking of my new job,” she says, “excuse me for a moment?” Crowe opens her mouth to argue, but Luna lays a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll stay in your line of sight,” she assures. 

She stops behind the counter to grab a pad of paper and an apron to tie around her waist and tucks her hair behind her ears before going over to where the hunters have claimed a table. 

“Hey, Missus Altius!” one of them exclaims, and Luna hears a choked-off noise from the vicinity of her own group. 

“Good afternoon, ladies,” Luna says, smiling. “What can I get started for you?”

“Any specials today?” asks the same hunter who had greeted her. 

Luna glances over her shoulder at the board behind the counter, even though she knows already. “Our Leiden Jambalaya is half-off today. I’d take advantage of it if I were you, it’s divine.”

The four hunters look at each other before nodding. “We’ll get two,” one of them says. “We’re picking up a couple extra hunts today, so we’ll need the energy.”

“Of course,” Luna says, jotting their order down. “Anything to drink?”

The hunters confer with each other again before settling. “Three colas and a water, please,” says the same one who ordered the food. Luna adds that to her notepad before tucking the pad and pen into the pocket of her apron. 

“Alright, I’ll run this down to the kitchen for you all. I do think we have a pot of jambalaya going already, so it shouldn’t be a moment!” She throws in a wink as she turns away from the table. She tears the page off of her notepad and sticks it to the ticket holder, spinning the contraption so Takka hears the  _ click-click-click _ of it. 

Sure enough, Takka yells back, “Heard!” and reaches over to grab the ticket just as she turns to grab the table’s drinks. She’s mastered the art of balancing a drinks tray in the few days she’s been at Hammerhead, and she carries the hunters’ drinks over in one hand with ease. 

“Here you go, ladies,” she says, setting each drink down on the table, ice cubes clinking. “Your food will be here in just a moment, so just sit tight, alright?”

“Thanks, Missus Altius!” says the youngest of the hunters, who looks to be a little younger than Luna herself. Luna smiles at her before returning to where her own group is sitting. She doesn’t sit back down, simply braces her hand on the booth behind Crowe and leans her hip against the side of it. 

“Missus Altius?” Noctis hisses, grinning with delight.

“Oh, hush,” Luna whispers back. “It’s our cover.” She moves her hand from the booth behind Crowe to Crowe’s shoulder, pulling the other woman against her side. “We’re newlyweds trying to have a honeymoon in dire times. Isn’t it romantic?”

Noctis lets out some strange combination of a giggle and a cackle, covering his mouth in an attempt to be quiet about it. “It’s  _ so _ romantic!” he says. “I’m so happy for you two. Congratulations.” 

Luna grins back at him. “Thank you for your well wishes,” she says. “It’s not easy, but we’re happy and we’re in love, and that is enough.” 

Crowe muffles a laugh into her hand. “Go,” she says, pushing gently at Luna’s hip. “I think that other table’s food’s ready.”

Sure enough, Takka calls out, “Order up!” in that moment, and Luna hurries over to grab the two large bowls and put them on a tray to ferry over to the hunters. The youngest of them cheers as Luna sets down the dishes in front of all of them. 

“Thanks again, Missus Altius!” she exclaims, ready to dig in. 

“It’s no problem,” Luna says, unable to hide a smile at the younger woman’s enthusiasm. “You all stay safe on your hunt, alright? Come back in one piece.”

“Sure thing, Missus Altius,” says one of the other hunters, and Luna departs from their table with a little wave. She unties her apron as she heads back to her own table, but decides to drape it over the back of the booth instead of putting it back behind the counter. 

“I think you might be better at this than Noct ever was,” Gladio says, elbowing Noctis in the side. 

Noctis grumbles, ducking his head. “Customers here are a lot nicer than the assholes at Starbucks.” 

“Oh, Takka kicks all the rude ones out,” Luna says easily. 

“He gives tips for hunts, too, if we wanna earn some extra money before we leave,” Crowe says. “I didn’t wanna do it before because I didn’t wanna leave Luna alone for too long, but now that you guys are here we can work something out.” 

“I told her Cindy could have kept an eye on me, but there’s no arguing with her,” Luna says to Noctis, rolling her eyes a little. 

Noctis snorts. “Been there,” he says. “Be glad she’s never been your magic tutor. Even  _ Ignis _ isn’t as stubborn as Crowe.”

“I’m right here,” Crowe says mildly. “And I know for a fact that my tutoring’s kept you alive, so I don’t wanna hear you complain.”

Noctis gives her a sharp salute. “Yes, ma’am.” Crowe reaches over the table and presses her knuckles against his jaw, a gentle and affectionate gesture. 

“I think taking on hunts is a good idea,” Ignis says, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Do you think it’s safe for us to stay here a little longer while we build up our finances?”

Crowe nods, taking a quick sip of her glass of water before speaking. “Cid’s good people,” she says. “The King called ahead to tell him to take care of us — apparently they’re old friends. We’ll be safe here for as long as we need to stay.” She makes a face. “I don’t know where you guys are gonna sleep, though. There’s a caravan here, but those hunters,” she tilts her head towards the table Luna served earlier, who are laughing and chatting while they finish off the last of their food, “are renting it right now. Luna and I are staying with Cid and Cindy above the garage, but I don’t know that they have enough space for four more people, unless all four of you wanna try and squeeze onto the same mattress.” 

Prompto appears to take Crowe’s words seriously, sizing up each of his friends before saying, “We might be able to, if we all stay real still.”

“No way in  _ hell,” _ Noctis says sharply. “I’m not sharing with Gladio, are you kidding me? If he rolls over, he’s gonna crush all of us!”

“Don’t be a baby,” Gladio says, scoffing. “If you can handle the tent, you can handle a mattress.”

Noctis crosses his arms and leans back in his seat, grumbling under his breath. There’s a soft blush on his face, despite his grumpy expression, and Luna has to hold in the inelegant snort threatening to escape her. 

“Why don’t we go get Cindy and take a look at the apartment above the garage, and we can figure it out from there?” she suggests, already getting up to grab her apron and tie it back around her waist. She leaves the table before anyone can object to her suggestion and grabs a tray to load their leftovers onto, taking them behind the counter to pack them up. Takka’s already prepared an extra serving of chili for Cindy, so she packs that up too and bags everything so that it’s easy to take with them. She glances over to her table and holds up one finger, telling them to wait just one more minute. She calculates the total for the hunters’ table and prints up a receipt for them. 

“Do you ladies mind paying now? I’m about to leave for the afternoon,” she says.

“Sure thing, Missus Altius,” says one of them. “What’s our total?” 

Luna puts the receipt down in front of them along with a pen. “350 each for the two jambalayas, 15 each for the colas, and 10 for the water, so 755 gil in total.” She tilts her head. “Plus a tip, if you would be so kind.” 

One of the hunters pulls the receipt and pen closer and scribbles down a number on the line marked for tips. “Of course, Missus Altius,” she says, glancing up at Luna with a wink. 

“She’s  _ married!” _ hisses the youngest hunter. “Don’t flirt with her!”

The hunter with the receipt rolls her eyes. “I’m not flirting,” she says, pulling out her wallet and counting out bills. “I’m just making sure Missus Altius knows we appreciate her hospitality.” She slides the receipt and pen and money back over to Luna. “I’d never move in on another girl’s girl.” 

Luna laughs. “I appreciate it.” She glances at the receipt and gasps. “Oh, you didn’t have to!” The tip amount written is 100 gil, which isn’t the largest sum of money but is still very generous for a group of hunters having a smallish meal. 

The youngest hunter shakes her head. “Of course we did! Gotta make sure you and your wife stay happy, Missus Altius.”

“This is very sweet of you,” Luna says, touched. “You let me know if you need anything before you head out, alright?”

There’s a chorus of agreement around the table, and Luna steps behind the counter to put the money in the cash register and half of the tip into the tip jar, despite Takka’s repeated insistences over the past few days that she can keep the whole tip. She grabs the bagged food for her and Noctis and their party, and gestured to the door with a jerk of her head. Crowe slips out of the booth and gets the door, and the boys file out of the diner behind Luna. 

“Aw, sweetheart, you didn’t have to!” Cindy exclaims when she catches sight of the food Luna carries with her. She straightens up and pushes her chair back from where she’s leaning over a notebook at her desk in her office space in the corner of the garage, scribbling something down. Cid’s own office space is sectioned off from the rest of the garage, but Cindy likes the open area and easy access to her current projects. 

“‘Course we did,” says Crowe from beside Luna. “Gotta keep our girl fed, don’t we?” She bumps Luna’s hip with her own and sends a wink in Cindy’s direction, and for a moment Luna forgets about the boys at her back and enjoys the strange sort of domesticity she’s fallen into with these two women. There’s a pop song playing quietly from the radio on Cindy’s desk, and there are streaks of oil on Cindy’s face, and there are dimples on her cheeks when she smiles sweetly at Crowe’s words. Crowe herself is a reassuring presence at Luna’s side, close enough for Luna to reach out and touch, take her hand if she wants to. 

She doesn’t want to leave Hammerhead. 

“We thought we might get the boys settled in,” Luna says, instead of voicing any of her thoughts. “Why don’t you take a break and come with us?” 

“Only ‘cause it’s you asking, doll,” Cindy says. She flips her notebook closed and tucks it under her arm, dropping her pencil into one of the pouches on her tool belt. “Come on,” she says to the boys. “Paw-paw’s up in the apartment keepin’ an eye on the dogs.” 

Cindy leads the way past the Regalia and Noctis’s Audi, into the back of Cid’s office where there’s a staircase up to the apartment. It’s a cozy little area — the stairs lead right into the kitchen-slash-living room, and there’s a small hallway to the bathroom and the two bedrooms. Cid sits on one of the couches with the television playing quietly, most of his attention focused on scratching Umbra and Pryna behind the ears. The two dogs lay on the couch on either side of him, their heads in his lap so that he can easily reach them. He looks up and greets them all with a “Take your shoes off. And you kids wash your hands ‘fore you touch any of that food.” 

Cindy rolls her eyes and says, “We will, Paw-paw,” while Luna puts the bag she’s carrying down on the counter. She runs her hands under the tap with a small amount of the dish soap and turns to show Cid once they’re clean. 

“See, Luna’s a good kid,” Cid says. “Good influence on all of you, I’ll bet.” 

“I do my best,” Luna says, unpacking Cindy’s serving of chili. “Have you already eaten, Cid?”

Cid grunts an affirmative. “Don’t you worry about me. Y’mind if I take the dogs out for a walk?”

Luna glances over her shoulder, seeing Umbra and Pryna’s ears perk up at the suggestion. “Be my guest,” she says, smiling. “Here,” she murmurs to Cindy, pushing a bowl of chili into the other woman’s hands. She just barely stops herself from leaning in to meet Cindy’s lips with her own, too, and wishes she didn’t have to catch herself like this. Something of her thoughts must show on her face, because there’s a sadness that enters Cindy’s gaze. 

“Thanks, sweetheart,” she says softly. Then, clearing her throat, she smacks her notebook down onto the counter and calls out, “You boys get your asses over here right now, lemme tell you all about the shit you’ve done to that beauty sittin’ pretty in my garage.”

Noctis, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio all gather round as Cindy flips open to the page she had been scribbling on earlier, listening as she starts to explain what it’ll take to repair the Regalia in between spoonfuls of her chili. Luna retreats to the couch, where Crowe has already curled up with a beer. Crowe doesn’t say anything about the moment that passed between Luna and Cindy, just shifts over and lets Luna lean against her. 

The tricky thing about the situation is that Luna and Cindy and Crowe have all fallen for each other in an extraordinarily quick amount of time, but Luna refuses — she  _ refuses _ — to break the hearts of these two women if she can’t find a solution to the dilemma that is her impending marriage to Noctis. Given that she knows Noctis is in something of a similar situation, she has held off on acting on her feelings until she has time to speak with him and devise a plan. Which then means that these little moments of domesticity — Luna and Crowe bringing Cindy lunch or cuddling on the couch or, as of a particularly forlorn plea from Cindy the night before when the three of them were preparing to sleep, sharing a bed — cannot exist in the context that all three of them want to. 

Yet. 

“Noctis,” Luna says suddenly, “may I speak to you outside for a moment?”

Noctis looks over at her curiously. “Sure,” he says slowly, realization dawning in his eyes. 

Crowe reaches for Luna’s arm as Luna makes to get up off the couch. Luna places her hand over Crowe’s. “I’ll be with Noctis the whole time,” she says, “and if anything happens he can warp us back up here.”

“Yeah, Crowe,” Noctis backs her up. “I’ll make sure nothing happens to either of us.”

Crowe doesn’t say anything, her eyes flicking between Luna and Noctis, before she leans back with a nod and a sip of her beer. Luna reassures her with a little wink, which Crowe responds to with a small smile. 

Noctis follows Luna back down the stairs and out to a spot in the shade of the main garage building. “So,” she says, cutting right to the chase, “have you thought of any solutions to our predicament?”

Noctis grimaces. “Not any realistic ones,” he says. “Unless dismantling a powerful Empire and therefore eliminating the whole need for a wedding is an achievable goal.”

Luna snorts out a laugh. “Oh, I wish. I haven’t thought of anything concrete either. To be honest, I’m tempted to say to hell with it all and just refuse.”

“Wouldn’t that be funny,” Noctis says, smiling up at the sky. “We reach the altar and the minister says all the ‘in sickness and in health’, ‘till death do us part’ shit and when it’s time for us to say ‘I do’, we both just… ‘I don’t, actually.’”

Luna throws her head back with laughter. “‘No, thank you’,” she plays along. “‘Terribly sorry for the inconvenience. Carry on.’” 

Noctis’s own laughter makes him double over, leaning against the garage wall for support. He straightens up when he’s finally got it all out of his system, wiping at his eyes. “So,” he says. “Cindy and Crowe?”

Luna raises her eyebrows. “So. Prompto, Ignis,  _ and _ Gladio?” 

Noctis’s face reddens. “We’re not talking about me right now!” he protests. He takes a breath. “Really, though,” he says, quiet and serious, “if you’re holding off on starting something with them, don’t hold back on my account. It’s— we’ll figure out a fix for the marriage thing, okay? But you should tell them how you feel. You should get to be with them. Everything else, we’ll deal with as it comes.”

There’s a lump in Luna’s throat, and tears prickling behind her eyes. “Oh, Noctis,” she says, and it comes out choked and watery. “You should be happy, too.”

“Hey, hey,” Noctis says, drawing her into a hug. “We can worry about me later. But I see the way you look at them and the way they look at you. You should get to have that, Luna.”

Luna hugs him back fiercely before pulling away and wiping at her eyes. “You’re my best friend, Noctis, do you know that? You’ve a very kind heart.”

Noctis shakes his head, smiling. “It’s nothing,” he says, faintly embarrassed. “You deserve it.”

“So do you,” Luna presses. “You should tell your friends how you feel.”

Noctis frowns, then sighs, burying his face in his hands. “I can’t,” he says, muffled. “‘M too scared.” 

“It’ll be alright, Noctis.” Luna reaches for his wrists, pulling his hands away from his face. “I’ve seen the way they look at you, too. They’d be thrilled to have you, and incredibly lucky besides.”

Noctis shakes his head again. “I’m not ready,” he says after a few moments of silence. “Just— not yet.”

Luna smiles sadly at him. “Alright.”

Cindy and Crowe follow easily when Luna gestures to them before bed, and there’s a coy smile playing around Cindy’s mouth as Luna slowly backs her up against her closed bedroom door. 

“Good news, then?” Crowe says from right behind Luna, her hands on Luna’s hips and chest pressed against Luna’s back. 

“Excellent news,” Luna murmurs before finally,  _ finally _ closing the distance between her mouth and Cindy’s. Cindy makes a delighted noise and cups Luna’s face in both her hands. It’s almost too overwhelming, the smell of motor oil coming from Cindy and woodsmoke coming from Crowe, the softness of Cindy’s lips, the warmth of Crowe at her back. Luna pulls away to catch her breath and in that moment Crowe swoops in, leaning over Luna’s shoulder to kiss Cindy, trapping Luna between the two of them with nowhere else to look but their mouths. 

It is, maybe, the best Luna’s ever felt. 

Crowe presses a slow kiss to Luna’s lips, too, one arm wound around Luna’s waist and the other hand on Cindy’s hip. “Gods, you look so pretty gettin’ kissed,'' Cindy breathes, watching them. “Both of you.” 

“We could say the same for you,” Luna whispers, pressing her mouth to the dip in Cindy’s collarbone. “I could stay right here between you two forever,” she sighs against Cindy’s skin, feels Cindy shudder underneath her. 

Crowe guides the three of them back towards Cindy’s bed. Luna and Cindy go willingly, more than happy to get comfortable on Cindy’s mattress and press closer to each other. They don’t go much farther than lazily making out and whispering amongst each other, but Luna falls asleep content that night, with Cindy’s face pressed against her neck and Crowe at her back with her arm thrown over both of them, everyone’s legs tangled together underneath the sheets. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/criticaIhits) or on [tumblr](https://sunprophets.tumblr.com), constantly talking shit


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> noctis pov baby!!! the plan is to alternate between the two of them every chapter. very exciting for me i think i love writing alternating pov fic now.

Noctis is roughly shaken awake while someone waves some sort of light in front of his eyes. He blinks slowly, grumbling and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, before he manages to focus on what’s in front of him. It’s Luna who’s shaking him with one hand and waving a phone — is that Ignis’s? — in front of his face with the other. There are other sounds too: the familiar tone of a news anchor, a clamor of voices from somewhere nearby, footsteps on the floor as someone (maybe more than one person) paces back and forth. 

“Get up,” Luna says, pushing Ignis’s phone into Noctis’s hands before going to stand in front of the television set with her arms crossed. Noctis’s eyes follow her instead of looking down at the device in his hand. His blood runs cold. 

The bottom third on whatever news channel is currently on reads ‘BREAKING: NIFLHEIM EMPEROR IEDOLAS ALDERCAPT ARRESTED AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT’. Noctis lurches to his feet to get a better look at the screen and tune in to what the anchor is saying. 

“ — Several high-ranking delegates have been apprehended for their involvement, but officials in Insomnia say there is no word yet of the whereabouts of Niflheim Chancellor Ardyn Izunia, and encourage citizens to report any possible sightings in order to bring him into custody. Several civilian conspirators in the assassination attempt on King Regis have also been taken into custody, and Crownsguard officials report that additional suspects are being investigated.” 

Luna nudges Noctis’s arm, then nods at the phone still in his hand. “There’s an article there with more detail. Crowe’s trying to get a hold of some of the Kingsglaive now to see if we can get a better idea of the situation.” 

“Kingsglaive?” Noctis looks up at where Crowe is pacing, phone pressed to her ear as she talks urgently with whoever is on the other end of the line. “Drautos—” 

“I know,” Luna says. “But your father has had an eye on him for quite some—” She cuts herself off and drags Noctis over to the kitchen counter, where Crowe is setting her phone down after saying, “Just a sec, let me put you on speaker.” Everyone in the apartment — Noctis, Luna, Crowe, Cid, Cindy, Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto — crowd around. 

“We’re handling the Drautos situation internally,” says the voice on the other end, who Noctis recognizes as Nyx Ulric. “Now that we have solid proof, we can at least convict within the ‘Glaive. The King wants it kept out of the news so that citizens don’t lose faith in the people who’re supposed to protect them, which, I mean, I can’t imagine what we’d do if it got out.”

“The King—,” Noctis chokes out, “my dad, is he okay?”

“Prince Noctis?” says Nyx. “Yeah, your dad’s fine, don’t worry. He’s caught up in a shit fucking ton of emergency meetings right now, but he said to tell you everything’s okay if I got the chance. He’ll probably be busy for the rest of the day, but if you call him tonight he might get a few minutes to talk.”

“Is my dad okay, too?” Gladio asks, and there’s a real undercurrent of fear in his voice. 

“Clarus is fine, too, kid. We’ll make sure he stays that way.” 

Gladio breathes a slow sigh of relief, and Noctis leans against his side for comfort and support. Gladio wraps an arm around Noctis’s shoulders and presses his forehead to the crown of Noctis’s head. “Thank the Six,” he whispers, barely more than an exhale. Noctis hums in agreement. 

“Who’s captaining the ‘Glaive?” Crowe asks, fingers tapping against the countertop. There’s the barest wisps of fire playing around her fingertips before Cindy reaches over and laces their fingers together. Luna moves, too, putting her arms around Crowe from behind. Noctis files that away to gossip with her about later. 

“Pelna’s Acting Captain,” Nyx says, a hint of pride in his voice. “Position’s as good as his once the internal investigations are done.” 

Crowe huffs out a laugh through her nose. “Bet you’re real fuckin’ happy about that.”

“You know I am,” Nyx replies. “How’re all of you holding up?”

Crowe looks up at everyone gathered around. “We’re doing alright,” she says. “A little shaken up by the news, I think, but we’ll manage. Stuck in Hammerhead for a few more days while the cars get some repairs, then we’ll be on the road.”

“Good,” Nyx says. “Best to keep the Prince out of Insomnia for the time being, and the Oracle away from the Niffs. Lay low as best as you can.”

“I know, Nyx.” Crowe rolls her eyes. 

Nyx laughs. “I know you know. ‘S my job to worry about you anyway.” There’s a brief murmur of muffled conversation on his end of the line before he says, “Listen, I gotta go. Stay safe, alright? Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Crowe says. “Don’t do anything stupid.” 

Nyx laughs again before hanging up, and Crowe leans back against Luna. Cindy tucks herself against Crowe’s side, keeping hold of her hand. 

Luna links Noctis and his friends up with the hunters staying in the caravan before her shift at Takka’s starts, which is good because it gives them a chance to make some extra money from hunts and bad because these hunters are the chatty type, asking questions about where the guys are from. Which would be fine ordinarily, but they’re supposed to be undercover and inconspicuous right now. 

It’s Ignis, of course, who saves the day when one of the hunters asks how they know Crowe and Luna. “Luna is my older sister,” he says, pushing his glasses further up his nose. “We’ve always been close, you see. She and Crowe had to run off to elope because our parents couldn’t handle the reality of both of their children being in gay marriages, with no one to carry on the family name.”

“Damn, that really sucks,” says one of the hunters, while another pipes up with, “So you’re married, too?”

“Yes, in a manner of speaking,” Ignis says, casting a glance around at Noctis, Prompto,  _ and _ Gladio that clearly says to play along or  _ else. _ “We’ve a bit of an unconventional relationship, the four of us,” — and he gestures at  _ all three of them _ — “so it’s not necessarily a legally binding situation, but it’s enough for now. If the law changes to allow polyamorous marriages, then I personally will be first in line to receive a license. As it stands, however, we’ve all legally taken on the same last name. Much to my parents’ chagrin, once again. Neither myself nor Luna decided to keep our unmarried names. Last I heard, it caused quite a scandal in the extended family.”

When did Ignis become such a good liar? He speaks so confidently that Noctis almost really does believe that he’s in a relationship with his three best friends, and that Luna ran away to get married because her and Ignis’s parents didn’t approve.

“Wow, you two are really alike, huh?” says the same hunter who asked about Ignis’s fake marriage. Noctis thinks she’s the youngest of the group, judging by her bubbly energy and the way the other three keep her in their peripheral at all times. 

“I suppose,” Ignis says, smiling fondly. “We were very close growing up. I regret that I was unable to attend Luna and Crowe’s wedding, though I understand why they chose to get married in secret.” 

The youngest hunter continues asking Ignis about his relationship with Luna, seemingly enamoured with the idea of Ignis and Luna both having epic romances with people their parents don’t approve of. She cuts herself off only when the behemoth they’re hunting appears, stopping mid-question to whistle out a sharp warning to the rest of the group. 

Noctis unsheathes his sword, having taken it out and strapped it to his back instead of keeping it in the Armiger — it would’ve been easier, but it also would’ve given them all away, so Ignis had suggested they take their weapons out and keep them on their persons. Noctis has to try hard to keep from warping, but the other hunters more than make up for Noctis’s moments of faltering. Between their whole group of eight, the behemoth goes down pretty easily. Way easier than it would’ve if it were just Noctis and his friends. These hunters are clearly experienced, even the youngest of them pulling off flips and dodging and landing hits with ease. 

She runs around to give everyone high-fives after they’ve felled the behemoth. Noctis grins when she raises both of her hands in his direction and he smacks both of his palms against hers — her excitement is infectious. Even Ignis accepts her two-handed high-five with a smile. 

The hike back to Hammerhead is relaxed and meandering. Ignis makes the guys butcher some of the behemoth on the spot to take back with them. Gladio ends up carrying the meat after Ignis bats his lashes at him as says “If you would, darling?” and  _ Gods, _ Gladio looks good when someone makes him blush. Ignis, for his part, does seem to be milking this fake-relationship story he’s come up with, holding Noctis’s hand while Prompto hangs back a little to keep Gladio company. 

“How’d you guys choose whose name to take?” The youngest hunter hasn’t stopped asking Ignis questions since they’ve started heading back. “You said you and Missus Altius both decided not to keep your maiden names.”

Ignis shrugs. “It was a rather easy decision, when it came down to it.” He slows and turns slightly, looking back at Gladio and Prompto. He rubs his thumb over Noctis’s knuckles and Noctis suppresses a shiver. “Dear Prompto is a star given human form. We all love each other equally, but we thought his name should be the one we all took. It’s like orbiting the sun, being around him.” Ignis’s voice is so soft, and the blush that steals over Prompto’s cheeks when he hears is so fucking pretty. 

“Wow,” the hunter says dreamily. “I wanna love someone like that one day. You guys are really lucky to have each other.”

“Yeah,” Noctis says, not looking away from Prompto’s face, at the way his blush deepens at Noctis’s agreement. “We really are.”

The hunters decide to retire to their caravan to rest when the group gets back to Hammerhead. Noctis and his friends drop the meat off at Takka’s, who agrees to set some of it aside for Ignis to cook dinner with and then tells them that the rest of their party is out front of the garage. Sure enough, Cindy and Crowe are standing by the side of the road with Umbra and Pryna both laying at their feet. Crowe is wearing sunglasses and holding a mug with the Hammerhead service station logo on it. They’re both watching a car on the road — upon further inspection, Noctis realizes it’s  _ his  _ car. And Crowe, who should be the one driving it, is standing right in front of him, so who—

“Paw-paw’s teachin’ Luna how to drive!” Cindy exclaims when she catches sight of them, waving them over. The car makes a hairpin turn that makes Noctis instinctively cover his eyes. 

“Dude, I can’t watch,” Prompto says, echoing Noctis’s own feelings on the situation. 

“Why’s she using my car?” Noctis asks, peeking through his fingers at the car in question. It made it through the sharp U-turn safely, thank the Six, and it’s picking up speed again, roaring past them. The windows must be down, because Noctis hears Luna’s laughter as the vehicle passes, along with Cid yelling something unintelligible. 

“The truck’s a stick,” Crowe says, sipping her coffee (Ignis makes a questioning motion towards her mug and she lets him have a sip — he nods approvingly), “and it was your car or your dad’s.” 

“I — why?” Noctis repeats.

Crowe shrugs. “Luna wanted to learn to drive. And besides,” she slants a grin Noctis’s way, “it’s not like she hasn’t been behind that wheel before.”

Noctis narrows his eyes. “Pardon?”

Cindy lets out a loud laugh. “Oh, she didn’t tell ya? Luna took one of your side mirrors clean off the other day! Nothin’ about an hour of work couldn’t fix, but boy it was fun to watch.”

Prompto lets out a whimper. Noctis can’t help but agree. The R8 Star of Lucis is a gorgeous car — so gorgeous, in fact, that Noctis trusts Ignis to drive it more than himself. A whole side mirror knocked off… Noctis loves Luna, he really does, but he can’t believe she’d do that to his car.

“Oh, get that look off your face!” Cindy waves a hand. “I fixed it, didn’t I? She’s good as new. Better than, actually, ‘cause I’m givin’ her a tune up later.” She raises an eyebrow. “‘Sides, y’all can’t say shit after what you did to the Regalia. Anything Luna does to that car’ll be loads nicer, I’ll tell you that for free.”

“I didn’t mean to—” Prompto starts. 

“I know you didn’t,” Cindy says. “I’m choosin’ to blame Prince Noctis right now.”

Noctis’s car slows down and indicates the turn into the service station area. Cid’s voice carries out the open windows, coaching Luna through parking next to one of the gas pumps before she turns off the car. She’s grinning when she steps out, and Cindy and Crowe both grin back. Luna runs to hug the two women. Crowe lifts her coffee mug out of the way so it doesn’t spill over, laughing as Luna hops in place with excitement. Then Luna sees Noctis and his friends, and nearly bowls Noctis over with the way she tackles him in a hug. 

“Noctis, your car is  _ amazing!” _ she says, pushing her windswept hair out of her face. It’s tied up in a ponytail, but the bangs that usually sweep across part of her forehead are all over the place, somehow made even messier when she runs her fingers through them. “I’ve never gone so fast in my life! Gods, it’s — it’s exhilarating.” 

And you know what? Noctis can’t be mad at her for using his car. He never really was mad about it in the first place, but in this moment he decides Luna is forgiven even for fucking up his side mirror, because her eyes are sparkling and her face is flushed and she looks so  _ happy _ and that’s all Noctis really wants for her, is for her to be happy. And if this one little thing means that she keeps grinning like that, then so be it. 

Still, he can’t resist poking a little fun. “Cindy says you took my side mirror off.”

Luna scoffs. “I don’t even know how that happened. I swear, there wasn’t a single thing on the road that could’ve done it. Cindy fixed it up perfectly, though, you should see. You can’t even tell!”

Noctis does go see. Luna has to point to him which mirror it was because she’s right — he really can’t tell that one of them was torn off. It’s the right-side mirror, but it looks perfect. “Huh,” Noctis says, mostly to himself. 

“Don’t think you can get outta fillin’ her tank back up, young lady,” Cid says, leaning heavily against the side of the car. He looks windswept, too, but the smile he gives Luna is full of pride. 

Luna goes over to him and lets him talk her through using the pump. Once she’s comfortably situated holding the nozzle and watching the numbers on the pump go up, she glances over at the guys and says, “So. I hear congratulations are in order.”

“Huh?” Noctis says. 

“It appears my dear younger brother has got himself three boyfriends,” she says, smiling. “I wish you all the best in your relationship.”

Noctis’s eyes go wide. “How did you know?” 

Prompto raises his hand. “Gladio told me to use his phone and text Crowe about Ignis’s cover story.” Noctis whips around to look at Gladio, who shrugs.

“Gotta keep our covers straight,” he says. 

“Perhaps ‘straight’ isn’t the most accurate term in this instance,” Ignis says delicately. 

Crowe snorts. “Gladio’s right. It’ll be easier for us if we all know each other’s cover stories.” She nods at Ignis. “That was a good move on your part, picking up Prompto’s last name. If it were any of the rest of you it would’ve been too conspicuous. I’m guessing that’s why you chose it, though?”

Ignis nods. “Noctis’s last name was out of the question, obviously. As was Gladio’s, as Amicitia is a name that is more or less attached to Lucis Caelum. And Scientia is a fairly prominent noble family even if no one immediately connects us to the Crown — using it runs the risk of getting recognized. Therefore: Argentum.” 

And something in Noctis aches, suddenly and fiercely, because he spent the better part of high school doodling  _ Mr. Noctis Argentum _ in the margins of notebooks where no one else could see. The thought of being referred to like that by someone in real life, out loud? It’s got him weak in the knees. 

He wants so badly for it to be real instead of just a cover.

It sucks, because he knows that Ignis and Prompto and Gladio are all into each other. It’s obvious with the way they look at each other and the way their touches linger and the way they blush around each other. Noctis wishes more than anything that there was space between them for him to fit. He knows the only reason they haven’t confessed to each other is because of him, so that he doesn’t feel awkward around them. It fucking  _ sucks. _

Noctis leans over the counter at Takka’s, pressing his whole upper body against the surface. He sighs. Luna, behind the counter, doesn’t look up from where she’s double-checking the money in the cash register. Noctis sighs again, louder this time. 

“Yes, Noctis?”

“Nothing,” he grunts, pressing his forehead against the backs of his hands. 

Luna closes up the cash register and reaches over to poke at Noctis’s hair. “Is that why you’re sighing like Pryna when she’s been inside too long?”

Noctis rolls his head so that his cheek is pressed to the surface of the counter, looking up at Luna out of the corner of his eye. “Why did Ignis have to choose a relationship as a cover story? Out of everything he could’ve picked. Am I being punished by the gods for something?”

Luna shakes her head at him. “You know what my opinion on this situation is.”

“Your opinion is wrong.” Noctis sits up. “He’s not into me. None of them are! They all like each other. I’m just,” he shrugs, “I’m just there.”

“Do you know,” Luna says, “one thing I’ve learned about coming up with cover stories is to keep them as close to the truth as possible. I think,” Noctis opens his mouth to argue, and Luna holds up a hand to stop him,  _ “I think _ that perhaps Ignis chose that particular cover story as an excuse to experience being in a relationship with all of you.” Noctis opens his mouth to argue again. Luna ignores him completely. “You told me he held your hand all the way back to Hammerhead.”

“Well, yeah,” Noctis says. “But that was just part of the cover.”

“He could have chosen to do something besides hold your hand the whole way. Is it so outlandish to you to think that maybe Ignis held your hand because he wanted to? And that he came up with the story he did because he wanted an excuse to do so?” Luna crosses her arms. 

Noctis slumps over the counter again. “You sound like one of Gladio’s shitty romance novels.”

The bell over the door jingles as Luna says, “What would you know about Gladio’s shitty romance novels?” and she turns her attention to whoever’s just walked in. Noctis turns in his seat, too. It’s the youngest of the group of hunters from the caravan. 

“Hey, Missus Altius! Hey, Mister Argentum!” she says, and Noctis’s heart leaps at being called that. “We’re about to head out and move on, but I wanted to come by and say thanks for being so nice to us! And thanks for coming on that hunt with us, Mister Argentum. You and your husbands are a really great team! I’m glad I got to meet you guys. Tell them I said bye, please?”

Noctis clears his throat. “Yeah, sure, of course.”

“You too, Missus Altius, please tell your wife I said bye! And thanks again for taking such good care of us!” The hunter hesitates when she reaches the counter, lifting her arms a little but frowning down at the surface separating her from Luna. Luna seems to catch on to her intentions, though, slipping out from behind the counter to give the younger woman a hug. 

“It was a pleasure meeting you,” Luna says. “Be safe, now, alright? And perhaps we will meet again.”

“That would be really great, Missus Altius.” The hunter pulls away from Luna and turns to Noctis, looking hopeful, and Noctis can’t help but smile as he stands up and hugs her too. 

“Take care,” he says. “I think it was nice to meet you, too. I hope we run into each other again.”

“Me too, Mister Argentum.” The hunter gives him one last squeeze before she lets go. “You guys stay safe, too, okay? We’re friends now, so I’m looking out for you in spirit!”

Noctis smiles and waves as the hunter bounces towards the door. She waves back one more time from the window of the diner before running over to her group. “Polite kid, isn’t she?” he says. 

“She’s likely only a year or two younger than you,” Luna points out, going back behind the counter. “I’m not quite sure  _ you _ can call her a kid.” 

“Whatever. It was sweet of her to come say bye.” 

Luna hums in agreement. Then, “You know, you could always take a page out of one of Gladio’s books, so to speak.”

Noctis fixes her with a deadpan stare. “I can’t believe no one believes me when I tell them you could be a great comedian,” he says flatly. 

“It is simply a suggestion,” she says, wiping down the counter where Noctis was slumped earlier. “Surely at least Gladio would recognize the moves you’re making.”

“No,” Noctis says. “No fucking way in fucking hell am I fucking doing that.”

Luna raises an eyebrow. 

Noctis’s face reddens. “I’m not going to!”

Luna’s laugh rings out in the empty diner. 

Ignis makes smash burgers for dinner out of some of the behemoth meat they collected earlier. Noctis picks the tomatoes and lettuce and onions out of his and silently places them onto Ignis’s plate. Ignis’s look of disapproval lasts only a second — Luna reaches over equally silently and puts Noctis’s discarded toppings into her own burger, making not only Ignis but also Prompto and Gladio look at her with surprise. Luna simply shrugs in response, digging in. Her sleeves are rolled up so that she won’t get any sauce on them. She’s been borrowing clothes mostly from Crowe and Cindy (and a pair of Prompto’s boots, after they figured out they were the same shoe size), but today she’s thrown one of Cid’s flannels over top of the t-shirt she’s taken from Cindy, too. She looks comfortable here. Happy. Noctis is sad to have to take her away from Hammerhead. Hell, Noctis is sad to have to leave Hammerhead himself. 

“I know a guy out in Galdin who’ll getcha some IDs,” Cid says, leaning back in his armchair and folding his hands over his belly. Luna, Cindy, and Crowe are curled up together on the loveseat, which leaves Noctis and his friends all crushed together on the couch. Noctis himself is nestled in between Gladio and Prompto, which is simultaneously the worst kind of torture and the best place Noctis has ever been. 

“The new plates I ordered for y’all should be in tomorrow,” Cindy pipes up. “Won’t take an extra minute to get ‘em on.”

“And after that, the world’s our oyster,” Crowe murmurs. 

Prompto shifts, moving his arm from where it’s pressed up against Noctis’s to drape it across the back of the couch instead. Noctis is very aware of the way Prompto’s arm is now almost around his shoulders. 

“As long as we don’t get caught on the way to Galdin,” Gladio says. 

“We won’t,” says Ignis firmly. “We will drive carefully and do our best to avoid authorities.” He pushes his glasses up his nose with one finger. “We’ll be alright.”

The next day is their last in Hammerhead. Noctis spends it behind the counter with Luna at Takka’s Pit Stop after Luna suggests it. It’s nice work. The customers there really are nicer than the ones at the Starbucks he’d worked at in high school. Crowe and Gladio share a booth and keep an eye on them, Gladio with a book out and Crowe playing something (Noctis hopes it’s King’s Knight) on her phone. Ignis and Prompto are with Cindy, who is putting new license plates on the Regalia and the Audi and doing some last minute tweaks. Noctis doesn’t doubt that he’ll be treated to a million and one car photos from Prompto’s camera in the evening. Noctis’s dad checks in every hour or so over text. They’d managed to talk for a while the night before — both had confirmed each other’s safety, and Regis had corroborated what Crowe said about the Drautos situation being handled internally by the Crown, the Crownsguard, and trusted members of the Kingsglaive. After that, he’d assured Noctis that he’d keep his son in the loop about any new developments and, at Noctis’s insistence, that he’d check in regularly to assure Noctis of his continued safety. Noctis, after each of his father’s check-ins, sends back a picture: a selfie of him and Luna, a photo of someone’s order ticket, a shot of the kitchen, of Gladio and Crowe chatting in their booth. 

Cindy, Ignis, and Prompto stroll in after the lunch rush clears out. Ignis and Prompto go slide into the booth next to Gladio. Gladio slings his arm over the back of the booth without breaking away from his conversation with Crowe and Noctis could swear that Prompto leans against Gladio just the slightest bit. Cindy comes over to lean over the counter and greet Luna with a quick kiss and a “Hey, doll,” and greet Noctis with a ruffle of his hair and a “Prince Charming.”

“Careful,” Luna chides, giggling. “I might think you’re trying to flirt with my best friend.” There’s a warmth that blooms in Noctis’s chest when he hears her call him that. He smiles at her.

Cindy winks at Noctis. “My gaydar’s better’n that, sweetheart.”

The warmth in Noctis’s chest disappears. Along with his voice. His eyes dart between Luna and Cindy and then to the table where his friends are. Luna, may the Six bless her always and forever, reads the situation easily. 

“Don’t tell anyone,” she says quietly. Cindy blinks, surprised, but nods. 

“No one?” she confirms. “Not even…” She tilts her head toward the booth, the slightest of movements. 

Noctis finds his voice again. “No one.” He swallows. “Only Luna knows. And— and you, now, I guess.” 

Cindy’s eyes are warm and soft as she reaches over the counter to squeeze one of his hands. “My lips are sealed. Sorry if I scared you.” 

“It’s okay,” Noctis says. “I just. Wasn’t expecting it.” 

Cindy helps Luna hop the counter, then reaches out to help Noctis, too. He takes it for the apology it is and smiles at her in gratitude. Luna links arms with him on the way to the booth, and pulls him down next to her as she slides in next to Cindy and Crowe. Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio all look at him weirdly as he takes his seat. 

“You good?” Prompto asks. His foot nudges Noctis’s ankle under the table. 

“Yeah,” Noctis says. “Just tired. Been on my feet all day, you know?”

Prompto doesn’t look convinced. Luna saves the day once again, bumping her shoulder against Noctis and saying, “I’ve been making him do all the work, to make up for the days I’ve had to work here without him.” Noctis laughs quietly. 

“What have you guys been up to?” he asks, hoping to draw attention away from himself. It works — Prompto launches into a bright-eyed chatter about the work Cindy’s done on the Regalia and the Audi. Cindy has to gently correct him a few times when he gets details wrong, but Prompto takes it in stride. Noctis doesn’t know a ton about cars — he knows that the Regalia is fully custom and that his own Star of Lucis is partially custom but built on an R8, which means it’s got a nice engine that goes fast and that it’s a very expensive and nice car. Prompto, however, has always had a mind for mechanics and machinery and mathematics, for as long as Noctis has known him. It’s no surprise that he’s paid attention to Cindy’s repairs and upgrades. 

Noctis catches Ignis watching Prompto only because of the way Noctis himself is watching all three of them: Ignis and Prompto and Gladio. Ignis’s eyes trace the movements of Prompto’s hands as he gestures. There’s a softness there that Noctis doesn’t see often; only when Ignis is gently waking Noctis up some mornings, or when he’s watching Gladio help Iris with her literature homework, or when— when he’s watching Prompto speak about something he’s interested in.

Noctis’s heart aches. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/criticaIhits), [tumblr](https://sunprophets.tumblr.com), yktfv


	3. Chapter 3

The drive to Galdin Quay is going to take them the better part of a day, so Ignis and Crowe wake everyone up when the sun’s barely peeking over the horizon. Luna can only imagine that Ignis’s strategy for waking up the boys is not nearly as nice as Crowe’s — Luna wakes to Crowe pressing gentle kisses to the back of Luna’s shoulders and murmuring at her to “Wake up, babe.” Cindy is already awake, judging by the sounds of movement around the room. 

Luna rolls over until she can meet Crowe’s lips with her own. Crowe hums out a laugh against Luna’s mouth. It doesn’t last for nearly as long as Luna would like it to — Crowe pulls away and says, “Come on, get up,” and Luna is helpless to do anything but follow. 

Cindy slips easily into the space Crowe vacates, taking Luna’s hands and tugging until Luna sits up fully in bed. Cindy presses her mouth to Luna’s, too, and Luna sighs into it. Leaving Hammerhead means leaving Cindy behind. They’ve talked about it, and maintaining a long-distance relationship is something all three of them are willing to do. But Luna wishes that Cindy could come with them, or maybe that she and Crowe could stay behind with Cindy, here in this bedroom. She’s a vision, kneeling on the bed in the oversized t-shirt and the shorts she wears to sleep, golden curls wild around her face, barely-there morning light sparking up her eyes. And behind her, Crowe, in a tank top and sweatpants with her hair down, watching the two of them like she knows exactly what Luna’s thinking. 

“Hey,” Cindy says, barely a murmur. She shifts back into Luna’s space, the sides of their noses brushing together as their lips meet again. “None of that, now,” she murmurs, pressing kisses across Luna’s jaw. “Get outta your head, honey.” 

“I can’t help it,” Luna admits. Crowe comes closer, putting one knee up on the bed as she wraps her arms around Cindy’s waist from behind. “I don’t want to go.” 

Cindy cradles Luna’s jaw in one hand, the other hand going to lace her fingers with Crowe’s. “I know, darlin’,” she says, soft and sad. “I know.”

Luna and Crowe stick close to Cindy all morning. If any of the guys have anything to say about this, they keep it to themselves — but Luna catches the sad looks Noctis keeps giving the three of them. He still doesn’t say anything about it when Luna catches him looking, just shares with her a soft, sad smile or, if he’s near enough, reaches out to squeeze her hand. 

There’s a ring on Luna’s finger now, made of steel. Cindy gave one to her and one to Crowe and kept one for herself. She had been shy as she did it, sitting in bed and folding Luna’s fingers over the metal. “To keep you both close to me,” she said, and then, “I know it might be a little too quick for somethin’ like this,” and Luna had to lean in and kiss the doubt off of Cindy’s face. 

Umbra and Pryna are staying here, in Hammerhead. Cid’s grown attached to them and it’s a little difficult to travel under the radar with two large dogs, even if they somehow managed to make the space for them. Luna’s glad. One more piece of her that can stay with Cindy. 

“Be safe,” Cindy says, clasping Luna and Crowe’s hands. The three of them stand in a huddle farther away from the boys and the cars. Noctis and his friends turn their backs and engage Cid in conversation, giving them some privacy. “I mean it. I need you to come back to me in one piece, y’hear?” 

“Of course,” Crowe says. Dips her head in close to press a kiss to the corner of Cindy’s mouth. “We’ll call. We’ll get Luna a phone when we reach Galdin.”

“And you’ll tell me if you have any car troubles,” Cindy adds.

“We wouldn’t dream of calling for anyone else,” Luna assures her. She lifts Cindy’s hand and presses a kiss to her palm, then to the inside of her wrist. Crowe brushes her lips over Cindy’s knuckles before kissing the ring that sits on her left hand. 

Cindy looks between the both of them for a moment. Then she tilts her head up and kisses Luna hard. She has to go onto her toes to kiss Crowe. Luna drinks in the sight — the two women she loves, wrapped in an embrace, both of them with a hand on her and a hand on each other. Cindy steps back, eyes fluttering open. Luna wants to confess to her, wants to say the words  _ I love you _ just to make sure Cindy knows even though the three of them understand their feelings for each other. She holds her tongue, though, because it would be unfair to say the words right before leaving. She wants to wait, to say it when they have more time, when they can all bask in the truth of it instead of holding onto it like a consolation prize for being left behind. 

“Y’all keep my girls safe, you understand me?” Cindy says to the boys. “Not a scratch on ‘em!”

Noctis gives Luna that same small, sad smile before he looks at Cindy and says, “Yes, ma’am,” and bends at the waist to give her a fancy little bow, complete with elaborate flourishes of his hands. Cindy laughs and Noctis straightens up with a proud look on his face. 

Prompto seems to catch on to Noctis’s little performance and bounds forward to take one of Cindy’s hands in both of his. He leans down, too, but instead of kissing it he simply presses his forehead to her knuckles. “You have our word, my lady,” he chirps. Cindy pulls her hand free of his and ruffles his hair before he gets the chance to straighten up. He yelps and ducks away, hands going up to fix his hair. 

“I appreciate it,” she says, laughing. “Take care of yourselves, too, alright?”

“We’ll do our best,” Ignis says. He gestures at Noctis and Prompto. “I doubt these two will make it easy, however.”

“Hey!” the two in question chorus, turning around. 

Gladio slings his arms around their shoulders before they can go any farther in their protests to Ignis. “Don’t worry about us,” he says to Cindy. “Even these two — ” he shakes Noctis and Prompto gently, “ — we’ll take care of ‘em.” 

Cindy tips the bill of her baseball cap. “Y’all’d better!”

Crowe is a vision, sitting behind the wheel of Noctis’s car. Luna indulges herself in looking and takes care to take pictures to send to Cindy. The photos are on Crowe’s own phone, which she had handed to Luna as soon as they’d got into the car. She drives with one hand on the steering wheel and her other arm resting on the little window ledge, tapping along to Top 40s hits on the radio. The radio is actually playing through the Regalia — Crowe had connected her phone to the Bluetooth in Noctis’s car and called Ignis’s phone through it in order to keep in contact. Prompto had taken over the phone and the Regalia’s radio less than an hour into the drive, and is now explaining to Luna why he does or doesn’t like certain songs or artists. Luna, for her part, is managing to remain engaged in the conversation while simultaneously admiring Crowe’s side profile. Though it’s not all that hard to remain engaged — Prompto’s enthusiasm is infectious. He doesn’t take offense when Luna decides she has a different opinion than him about a song. 

Prompto’s in the middle of explaining the career trajectory of one of his favourite artists and his own predictions for the sound of their next album when Luna feels a piercing pain behind her eyes. She shuts them instinctively, bringing her hands up to clutch at her temples. Her gut roils. 

“Pull over,” she grits out. “Crowe,  _ pull over.” _

Crowe does. The car’s barely stopped before Luna unbuckles her seatbelt and all but throws herself out of it, bending over to vomit onto the dirt on the side of the road. She’s distantly aware of the sound of someone else retching as well, but the only thing she can focus on is the persistent, sharp pain in her head. There are colours and shapes dancing too-bright on the backs of her eyelids. She can’t make any sense of them, not over the way her head is pounding, her stomach heaving, her whole body seeming to rebel against her.

Strong arms lower Luna to the ground, leaning her back against the car. Someone presses something cool to her lips. She takes small sips, feeling cool water slide down her throat. A hand presses to her forehead. “No fever,” a voice says. There’s a different voice somewhere beyond it, rumbling something repetitive and melodic under its breath. “Luna, Noctis, can you open your eyes for me?” says the first voice. 

It feels like it takes all of Luna’s energy, but she manages to crack an eye open. Crowe is standing over her, shading her from the sunlight. Ignis — he must’ve been the voice that told her to open her eyes — is crouched in front of her. Beside her is Noctis, who seems to be in the same state as Luna. Gladio is shielding him from the sun. Prompto is crouched next to Ignis, holding a metal bottle in his hand, alternating between looking at the two of them sat leaning against the R8 and at the horizon. Keeping an eye out for incoming threats, presumably. “Dude,” he says quietly, once he catches Luna’s gaze. “Your  _ eyes.” _

“What about them?” Luna asks. Or tries to — her voice comes out as a hoarse croak. Prompto moves before she’s even done getting the wheeze out, lifting the metal bottle to her lips and laying a gentle hand on the back of her neck for support. 

“Little sips,” he says, encouraging. “Take your time.”

Luna does, taking a few minutes to consume water until her throat no longer feels like it’s full of needles. “My eyes,” she says, once she can speak properly again, “what about them?”

“They’re, uh, they’re red,” Prompto says. “Not like normal red, though, like — hang on.” He fumbles his phone out of his pocket and swipes at it for a moment, then holds it up in front of her face. She can see herself in its front-facing camera and her eyes — 

The blue of her irises is flooded with red instead. She looks terrifying. She does not understand why the people around her are not screaming and trying to put as much distance between her and themselves as they can. She looks to her left, where Noctis sits, only to find him already looking at her. 

His eyes look just like hers. 

“Fuck,” he says. 

They sit there at the side of the road until both Noctis and Luna start to feel well again. The two of them lean against each other heavily, Noctis’s hand finding hers and lacing their fingers together. The touch is grounding. Prompto retrieves salted crackers and soft drinks for them from the Regalia. “You’ve gotta replenish your salts and sugar and stuff,” he says. “Gladio, did you pack any of that electrolyte stuff?”

There’s a sound of shattering crystal as Gladio pulls something out from the Armiger. “Yeah,” he says, handing it to Prompto. Prompto scrambles to his feet again and grabs two plastic bottles of water from the Regalia’s trunk, dropping a tablet into each and letting it fizz until it dissolves. 

“Here,” he says, handing one to Luna and one to Noctis. “Remember, small sips.”

“Thank you,” Luna says. Noctis nods, throat still too raw to speak properly. Prompto gives the both of them a small smile. 

“Don’t mention it,” he says. Then, “What happened?”

Luna shakes her head. “I don’t know. My head — it felt like my skull was being shattered from the inside.”

“I would assume it was carsickness,” Ignis says, “if it weren’t for, well.” He gestures toward his own eyes. 

“Saw something,” Noctis croaks. Everyone’s eyes snap to him. 

“Noct?” asks Gladio, crouching down. He lays a hand on Noctis’s trembling shoulder. 

“Colours,” Noctis says. “Bright.” 

Luna nods. “I couldn’t — couldn’t make any sense of it. It hurts to even try to remember what I saw.”

“Yeah, same,” Noctis says. 

“Troubling,” says Ignis, adjusting his glasses. 

“Understatement,” says Gladio, rubbing small circles against Noctis’s back. 

“How are you feeling?” Crowe asks quietly.

Luna reaches for Crowe with her free hand. “Like shit,” she admits, nudging until Crowe puts an arm around her. Luna turns to tuck her face against Crowe’s neck without letting go of Noctis. “I think I could sleep for about ten years and it still wouldn’t be enough.”

“Think you’re up to sleeping in the car?” Crowe says. “If we get going, we can still reach Galdin before nightfall.”

“Sooner, if we speed,” Ignis says. Gladio glares at him. Ignis sniffs, then adds, “Carefully.”

“I think I’ll be alright,” Luna says. She nudges Noctis. 

“Um,” Noctis says. “I’ll be okay, I think.”

“Let’s get the both of you into the R8, then,” Ignis says. “The air conditioning will likely do you some good.” 

“I’ll ride with you guys,” Prompto adds. “Someone’s gotta keep an eye on you, and Crowe’s gonna have to focus on driving.”

“Good idea, Prompto,” Ignis says. Prompto flushes, ducking his head. 

So Prompto slides into the middle of the backseat of the R8 and Noctis and Luna curl up on either side of him. It’s not the roomiest of spaces, but the three of them are around the same height and are shorter than the other members of their party, so they make it work. Prompto slouches down a little and then gestures vaguely at himself. “Pillow,” he says. 

Noctis immediately lays down and puts his head in Prompto’s lap. How he manages to curl himself small enough to fit the rest of his body onto the seat, Luna has no idea. Luna herself hesitates for a moment before laying her head on Prompto’s shoulder. Then, as Crowe pulls back onto the road, Luna shifts so that her head is more on Prompto’s chest. The steady beat of his heart helps ease off her headache. 

“Thank you, Prompto,” she says quietly, barely audible over the sound of Noctis already snoring. 

She doesn’t hear his response — she’s dropped off into sleep. 

“Hey, sleeping beauty.”

Luna blinks slowly as she wakes. The first thing she focuses on is Crowe’s face, smiling gently at her. She’s holding the car door open, one arm bracing herself against the top of the car as she leans down. The second thing Luna focuses on is the tightness in her neck and her shoulders and her back. She’s scrunched herself into an uncomfortable position, half on her seat and half on Prompto — who is also asleep, head tilted back and mouth wide open. One of his hands is tangled in Noctis’s hair, where Noctis still sleeps with his head on Prompto’s lap. His other hand is around Luna herself, bracing her against his chest where she’d fallen asleep. 

The other door to the car opens, and Gladio shifts the shotgun seat up enough to reach in and poke at Noctis’s sleeping face. “Up and at ‘em, Charmless,” he says, but there’s a warmth suffusing his voice. Noctis keeps sleeping, but Prompto jerks awake at Gladio’s voice, his arm around Luna tightening momentarily. 

“Hey,” Prompto says when he notices that she’s awake. “You feeling okay?”

Luna sits up so that she’s no longer putting half her weight on Prompto. “Much better,” she says. “I — thank you, for taking care of me and Noctis both.” 

Prompto waves a hand. “Don’t worry about it. Had to take care of myself loads when I was a kid, I’m good at it now.” 

Luna frowns, but before she can say anything about Prompto’s comment, Crowe holds out a hand. “Come on, Luna,” she says. “Ignis is booking us a room. Let’s get you into a proper bed, yeah?”

She takes Crowe’s hand and lets herself be pulled out of the car. She stumbles a little, legs still asleep from the long drive, but Crowe catches her against her chest easily. “Hey,” she says, smiling down at Luna, and Luna simply has to raise herself up onto her toes to kiss her. Crowe hums against Luna’s mouth, pleased. Luna cradles Crowe’s cheek. 

“Be a hell of a lot easier to wake Noct up like that,” she hears Gladio grumble under his breath. Prompto lets out a breathy giggle in response. 

Hm. Interesting.

Between the two of them, Prompto and Gladio do manage to get Noctis awake enough to get out of the car. He sways on his feet, squinting in the sunlight, then yelps as Gladio scoops him up in a bridal carry. 

“Go back to sleep,” Gladio orders. Noctis blinks up at his friend blearily, then shrugs and does as he’s told. Luna raises her eyebrows at the display. 

Ignis comes back with their room keys. They unload their bags from the trunks of the Regalia and the R8. Ignis and Crowe carry Noctis and Gladio’s bags, since Gladio has his arms full of sleeping prince. Luna does not miss the fond look Ignis shoots towards both men. 

The room Ignis has booked has two king-sized beds. Prompto throws himself onto one; Gladio sets Noctis down gently on the other. 

“We can sleep three to a bed,” Ignis says as Noctis starts to blink awake. 

“I call Luna and Crowe,” Noctis says, voice hoarse with sleep. His three friends glare at him. Luna looks to Crowe, who shrugs. 

“Dude!” Prompto says. 

“It’s fine with us,” Crowe says, “as long as His Highness doesn’t kick in his sleep.”

Ignis sighs. “He sleeps like a rock, regrettably.” 

“Excellent,” says Luna. She flops down onto the mattress next to Noctis, sighing happily at the softness of the sheets. Noctis shifts over to make room for her. 

“How are you feeling?” he asks her quietly. 

“Leagues better than this morning,” she replies, just as quiet. “You?”

“Same.” He wiggles around until he can put his head on her shoulder. “This okay?”

Luna hums. Noctis, content with this answer, dozes off once again. 

“I’m terribly sorry about him,” Ignis says, once Noctis is fast asleep. 

“It’s no issue,” Luna says. “I’m quite glad to spend the time with him, even if it means being used as a pillow.”

Prompto snorts at that. Crowe does, too, as she lays back on the mattress next to him. “We’re gonna have to get up in a bit,” she says. “Gotta get you some hair dye,” she gestures to Luna, “before we get those ID pics taken.”

“We should probably shower, too,” Gladio says. “Don’t know about you guys, but sitting in a car for that long’s got me feeling gross as hell.”

“We’ll have to make sure Crowe and Luna are granted access to the Armiger as well, while we’re here.” Ignis takes his glasses off and rubs at his temples. “There’s likely a million and one other things I’m forgetting at the moment.” 

“We’ll be fine,” Crowe reassures him. “Hey, why don’t you take first shower, huh? You could use the relaxation.”

The small smile Ignis gives her is all gratitude. 

Luna joins Noctis in dozing while the rest of their companions take turns with the shower. Crowe shakes her awake gently when it’s her turn. Noctis grumbles when she pries herself out of his hold, but settles when Crowe takes up her vacant spot and lets Noctis curl back up against her side. Luna drops a kiss onto Crowe’s cheek in thanks. 

She comes out of the shower to see that Prompto and Gladio have migrated to her bed with Crowe and Noctis, while Ignis sleeps deeply and peacefully on the other one. Gladio is on Noctis’s other side, reading a book seated up against the headboard. Prompto sits near the middle of the bed with Noctis’s feet pulled into his lap. One hand is curled around Noctis’s ankle, thumb slowly stroking back and forth. The other holds his phone. Crowe, still laying down with Noctis curled up against is her, has her phone out, too. She and Prompto are both cursing at their screens, quiet so as to not wake Noctis or Ignis. 

“The shower’s free,” Luna says, towelling the ends of her hair. She’s dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of Crowe’s sweatpants, ready to spend the rest of the afternoon resting until they have to meet up with Cid’s contact. 

Gladio pushes at Noctis’s shoulder without looking away from his book. “Up,” he says. 

Noctis’s only response is a grumble. He burrows his face further against Crowe’s shoulder. Crowe laughs. 

Luna drapes her towel around her shoulders and considers the scene in front of her. She loves Noctis very much, but he’s currently occupying prime real estate next to her girlfriend — real estate that Luna would like to take over as promptly as possible. “Let me try,” she says. Gladio and Prompto both give her dubious looks as she crawls up the bed until she’s kneeling next to Noctis. 

Luna is aware of Noctis’s training in magic. He had told her about it as soon as it had started — in his teen years. Luna’s own magical training had begun well before that — in preparation for her role as Oracle, she had been learning to use magic around the same time that she had been learning to walk and to talk and to read. She knows, therefore, that her control over her power is far greater and more precise than Noctis’s control over his. 

She cradles Noctis’s face in her hands ever so gently. Crowe and Prompto and Gladio all watch silently, with bated breath. She takes a deep breath in and then, as she lets it all out in quick  _ whoosh!, _ she sends a small shock of ice magic up through her palms. 

Noctis jerks awake, flailing. Everyone else on the bed moves quickly to avoid being hit by a stray limb. “What the  _ hell!” _ he snaps. No one responds; they’re all busy trying to smother their laughter so as not to wake Ignis. 

“Rise and shine, Your Highness,” Luna says cheerily.

Noctis scowls at her. Then, he turns the force of his glare at Gladio and Prompto and says, “What did I tell you?” He gestures wildly at her. “I said, ‘Trust me guys, Luna’s a total prankster. An absolute comedian.’ And you guys said, ‘Noctis, how dare you! She’s the Oracle! Have some respect!’ No one’s respecting me right now, I’ll tell you that!”

“Yeah, yeah, you were right, we were wrong, Luna’s the coolest person on the face of the planet,” Prompto says, waving a hand. “We bow down to your eternal wisdom, O Most Knowledgeable and Handsome Prince.”

Noctis pouts. Gladio snorts. “Go shower.”

Noctis, still pouting, turns to dig through his bag for clothes. Luna crouches next to him as he does. “I’m sorry if that was too much,” she says quietly. She can feel Gladio and Prompto’s eyes on her back. “I only meant to have a little fun, but if you were hurt by it then it wasn’t worth it.”

Noctis stops his huffing to look at her, then leans forward to put his head on her shoulder. “Nah, I’m sorry. ‘M just a little cranky, ‘s all. If you did it to anyone else I woulda thought it was hilarious.” 

Luna smiles. “That’s good to hear,” she says, wrapping an arm around him and squeezing. Noctis hugs back tightly before she draws back and leaves him to his search for clothes. 

Gladio and Prompto are both looking at her strangely. “Grab something you can go out in,” Gladio says to Noctis, without looking away from her. “We got some errands to run once you’re clean.”

Noctis hums an affirmative, then lets out a quiet sound of triumph. It makes both Gladio and Prompto’s gazes flick towards him for a moment, softening, but they return to her when the bathroom door clicks shut behind Noctis. 

“What?” Luna says, keeping her voice carefully level. 

There’s a moment of silence, then— 

“Nothing,” Gladio says, shaking his head. “Never mind.”

Luna and Crowe exchange a look. Crowe shrugs and pats the spot on the bed recently vacated by Noctis. Luna takes it over immediately, draping an arm over Crowe’s waist and putting her head on Crowe’s shoulder. 

“Texted Cindy that we got here alright,” Crowe murmurs. “Told her you got sick, too. She sends kisses.” She presses said kisses to Luna’s cheeks and nose and mouth.

“You didn’t have to worry her,” Luna murmurs back, hiding her face against Crowe’s neck. 

“She’s your girlfriend, it’s her job to worry about you sometimes,” Crowe says, shifting to face Luna fully. She draws the blanket up to their shoulders and Luna cuddles in even closer. 

“Tell her I’m sending kisses back. When are we getting a phone for me?”

Prompto pipes up, “I was actually thinking you could come with us and we could grab it after Noctis gets done showering! And then Ignis can take care of the security stuff on it.”

Luna pushes herself up a little to look at him. “Really? That sounds excellent.”

Prompto grins at her. “I need you to come with us anyways,” he says. “We’re taking care of disguises. I got me ‘n Noctis covered, no problem, and I think we can take care of Iggy and Gladio has his own ideas. But I’m gonna need you there to figure out our approach.” He winks at her and points finger guns in her direction. “Super spy style.”

“What’s this about disguises?” Ignis asks, having apparently woken up. His voice is quiet and groggy, but there’s a sharpness underneath it. “Do you spend a lot of time considering disguises for yourself and Noct?”

“Um,” Prompto says. “Uh. What’s the statute of limitations on teenage shenanigans?”

Ignis remains silent for a moment. Then, “On second thought, I don’t want to know. Wake me if you need me.” He rolls over, presumably going back to sleep. 

Luna shares a conspiratorial glance with Prompto. “My lips are sealed, don’t you worry,” she says, which makes Prompto’s eyes very nearly bug out of his head. 

“Noct told you?” he hisses. 

Luna shrugs. “He and I tell each other nearly everything,” she admits. “Noctis knows things about me that I’ve never even thought of telling anyone else.”

“And Luna knows the same stuff about me,” says Noctis, from the bathroom door. He’s changed into a graphic t-shirt and a pair of nice jeans. “I’ve  _ been _ telling you guys, Luna’s the coolest person in the world.”

“Hardly,” Luna replies. “But I’m flattered you think so.”

Noctis frowns at her. “Not even gonna say it back, huh? Rude.” Then, to Prompto and Gladio, “We good to go?”

Gladio nods. “Luna?” He glances at her. Luna sighs and drops a quick kiss to the corner of Crowe’s mouth before getting up. 

“Should I change?” she says, looking down at her own t-shirt/sweatpants ensemble. Noctis and Prompto both eye her critically. Prompto taps his chin. 

“Switch out the sweats for jeans,” Noctis says decisively. 

“I got a pair,” Prompto says, already digging through his bag. “Here.” He pushes a bundle of denim into her hands. Luna steps into the bathroom to shimmy into them. 

“Perfect,” Noctis says when she reemerges. He hands her a baseball cap. “Put that on, too.”

Luna does. “Nice finishing touch, dude,” Prompto says. 

“I hate what’s going on here,” Gladio says, “and for the sake of my own mental health, I don’t wanna know how you guys are so good at this.” 

“Sucks, big guy,” Noctis says, linking arms with Luna. “Let’s go.”

“Disguises are all about expectations,” Prompto says, “so you’ve gotta use what people expect you to look like or act like as a starting point, and then work  _ away _ from it.” He’s sitting behind Luna, who is sitting cross-legged on the bathroom floor with a towel draped around her shoulders while Prompto dyes her hair. (“Me and Prompto went through our emo phases together,” Noctis had explained, arm in arm with her at the drugstore while Prompto examined various boxes of hair dye. “I wasn’t allowed to dye my hair, obviously, but Prompto went fucking crazy with it.”) 

Noctis nods from where he’s perched on the bathroom counter, his legs swinging. “You’d be surprised how much just a few tweaks can do. It’s all about context.” He gestures to Luna. “Like, people expect you to be wearing white dresses all the time, really kinda serene and flowy and stuff, because that’s what they see you wearing most of the time. But when you dress up in a shirt and pants and throw some colours on there, they won’t look twice.”

“I know I said I didn’t wanna know,” Gladio says, leaning against the doorframe, “but I’m kind of starting to want to know.”

“That makes one of us,” says Ignis, leaning against the counter next to Noctis. He’s tapping away at Luna’s new phone, setting up the same security protocols that are on the rest of their party’s phones. Crowe, sitting on the counter on Ignis’s other side, gives him a comforting pat on the shoulder. 

The bathroom is a little too small to fit all of them comfortably, but Luna finds that she doesn’t quite mind. The door is open to allow for whatever small amount of ventilation it can, and everyone is either in her direct line of sight or easy enough to spot if she turns her head just a little. Prompto keeps up a steady stream of chatter as he dyes her hair, occasionally making Ignis lean closer in order to tweak the shade of it. 

“Dude,” Prompto says as he finishes, “you guys are totally gonna look like twins after this.” 

“I could only hope to look as beautiful as Lunafreya,” Ignis says, ducking his head. Luna leans over to poke at his leg. 

“Nonsense,” she says. “I could only hope to look as handsome as Ignis.” That gets a smile out of him. 

Prompto snorts. “Like you’re both not hot as fuck,” he says. He starts digging through the bag from the drugstore. “Okay, we gotta wait for that dye to set in before we can wash it out, but I’ve got a curling iron here for me and Noct, and a bit of makeup for all of us. Crowe, you said you’d take care of you and Gladio?”

“Yeah,” Crowe says, and Gladio’s demeanor shifts to something smaller and quieter. “You still up for it?” she asks him. 

Gladio swallows. The air in the room is tense and cautious. Luna doesn’t know what’s going to happen, but even she holds her breath. “Yeah,” Gladio says, his voice quiet and rough. He comes to sit cross-legged on the floor next to Luna so that Crowe can sit on the edge of the tub behind him. 

“Someone pass me a comb,” she says. Prompto hands one over, silent. Crowe runs her fingers through Gladio’s hair, gently untangling it, before she starts combing it from the ends, working her way up. 

Gladio catches Luna’s curious gaze. “It’s a Galahdian thing,” he explains, voice soft. “Usually moms braid their kids’ hair when they’re old enough.” He picks at one of his nails. “My mom died before I was.”

“Oh,” Luna says softly, and reaches for Gladio’s hand before she thinks better of it. He lets her take it, lets her curl her fingers into the center of his palm as Crowe starts the first braid at his temple. 

“My mom died before she could do mine, too,” Crowe says quietly, not looking up from her work. “Libertus did mine for the first time.” Luna looks up at her. Crowe’s eyes are focused on the movement of her fingers in Gladio’s hair, quick and sure. 

There’s silence as Crowe starts on Gladio’s second braid. Ignis continues tapping away at Luna’s phone. Prompto leans against Noctis on the counter, keeping an eye on the time. Luna continues to hold onto Gladio’s hand and watch Crowe work. 

“There,” Crowe says finally. She hesitates for a moment, then leans forward and presses a kiss to Gladio’s temple, right where the two braids start. Gladio gets up slowly and leans forward and looks at his reflection in the mirror. He runs his fingertips over the braids. 

“Thanks,” he says. It comes out rough. He clears his throat. “Thank you,” he says, clearer this time. 

“Hey,” Prompto says into the ensuing silence. “Luna, let’s wash that out of your hair, yeah?”

Prompto shimmies out of his pants so that he can hop into the bathtub without getting them wet while Luna leans back against the tub. Prompto takes the showerhead and washes the dye out of Luna’s hair slowly and carefully. The warm water and the repetitive motions of Prompto’s fingers through her hair make Luna’s eyes heavy, and she must drift off because the next thing she knows Crowe is coaxing her to her feet to dry her hair in the bedroom proper, in order to let Prompto change out of his wet shirt and boxers. 

Luna sits on her bed and fiddles with her phone while Prompto takes care of his and Noctis’s disguises. She takes a photo of her new hair and sends it to Cindy, who responds with a series of exclamation marks. She lets Crowe download King’s Knight onto her phone and help her get started with it. 

Noctis sits on edge of the bed with Prompto standing between his knees. Ignis and Gladio watch from the other bed with identical looks of disapproval as Prompto and Noctis move through the motions of putting loose waves in Noctis’s hair and smudging the slightest amount of brown eyeliner around his eyes like they’ve done it thousands of times before. Luna happens to know that they have. She’s elected to keep that information to herself. 

The process of disguising Prompto seems to be much the same as the process of disguising Noctis: the two of them switch places — Prompto sitting on the bed and Noctis standing in front of him between his knees — while Noctis loosely curls Prompto’s hair and brushes through it with his fingers until it falls in loose waves. Then, he takes a brown eyeliner pencil and lines the bottoms of Prompto’s eyes before smudging it out. The overall effect makes them both look like regular tired teens rather than Prince and Crownsguard. Luna gives them a thumbs up when they look over at her. 

All that Prompto does to Ignis’s hair is brush it over his forehead and muss it up a little. It’s extraordinary how much that changes the way Ignis looks — Luna’s already gotten used to seeing him with his hair styled up and out of his face. 

“There we go,” Prompto finally says, looking around at everyone. “We just gotta make sure Gladio wears a shirt all the time,” — Gladio looks rather unhappy about this — “and we’re golden.” His eyes fall on Luna. “Actually,” he says, a slow smile spreading over his face, “wait a sec.”

He turns to rummage through Ignis’s duffel bag, fully ignoring Ignis’s protests, and pulls out a shirt and a pair of slacks. The shirt he tosses onto the bed. The slacks he holds up with both hands and gestures Luna over with, then measures against her legs. 

“Iggy, you got a needle and some thread?” he asks. “I need to hem these.”

“No, you don’t,” Ignis grumbles, but there’s the sound of shattering crystal as he pulls something from the Armiger and hands it to Prompto. Prompto makes quick work of the pants, beckoning Luna over a few more times to measure their length before he’s satisfied. He pushes the whole ensemble into her hands, along with a belt.

“Go put these on,” he says. Luna does, and Prompto whistles enthusiastically when she steps out of the bathroom. “Am I a genius or am I a fucking genius?”

“You,” Noctis says, leaning an elbow on Prompto’s shoulder, “are a  _ fucking _ genius.”

Luna has to agree. Ignis’s clothes make her look vastly different from the Oracle of Tenebrae. Standing next to Ignis in the full-length mirror, the two of them truly do look like they could very nearly be twins. “Prompto, this is amazing,” she says, spinning around to get a look at herself. The slacks are the perfect length. Ignis’s shirt is a little too big on her, but she’s tucked it into the pants so it drapes nicely and moves just the slightest bit when she does. She’s taken a pair of cufflinks, too, simple and understated and silver to match with the ring on her finger. The boots she’s been borrowing from Prompto somehow mesh well with the whole look — a slightly more rebellious older sister to Ignis the well-mannered younger brother. And her hair, of course, is the same colour and shade as Ignis’s — a dark, dirtyish blonde, rather than her usual pale platinum, worn down around her face and cascading around her shoulders rather than in the ponytails and braided updos she normally has to wear it in. 

Prompto ducks his head self-consciously, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Aw, it’s nothing,” he says. “Me and Noct used to—” and then he cuts himself off under the force of Ignis and Gladio’s sudden and intense stares. 

Crowe seems to take pity on the two boys currently withering under their friends’ glares. “Let’s go,” she says, putting her arm around Luna. “We’ve gotta meet up with Cid’s contact before we can have dinner, and I’m hungry as fuck.” Noctis and Prompto both look visibly relieved at Crowe’s interruption. 

“Great idea!” Noctis says. “Let’s go, let’s go!” He ducks past Ignis and Gladio and puts his shoes on by the door before slipping out of the room. 

Cid’s contact is a middle-aged woman with an air of craftiness about her. She doesn’t offer them a name, so all of them end up referring to her simply as “Madam”. She doesn’t ask for their real names either, just for the information they want on their new IDs. She takes their photographs and sends them on their way, saying that she’ll have them ready by tomorrow morning. She’s brisk and professional but still nice enough to recommend a place for them to have dinner.

“Rather quick turnaround time on that,” Ignis notes. This time it’s Noctis and Prompto’s turn to side-eye someone. 

“What do you know about how long it takes to make fake IDs?” Noctis asks, squinting in suspicion. 

Ignis sniffs. “You have your secrets, and I have mine.”

“Dude,” Prompto says. “Totally not fair!”

Luna listens with fondness as Noctis and Prompto continue to pester Ignis and Ignis continues to avoid answering their questions. She catches Gladio’s eye, who looks similarly amused. It’s comfortable, walking down the boardwalk with Crowe’s arm around her, taking pictures to send to Cindy, listening to her friends bicker. It’s nice.

The dinner spot Cid’s contact suggested is a seafood place, which Noctis is thrilled by. Luna herself is quite intrigued, examining the menu at length before she decides she’s ready to place her order. There’s an agreement among the six of them that at least a few bites of each other’s food are free game for tasting and Luna eagerly eyes the platter that gets set down in front of Gladio, heaping with different fish all looking like they’ve been seasoned to perfection. Noctis and Crowe each order a full crab and dig in excitedly, cracking the shells open and scooping out the meat. Ignis orders a nicely made risotto. Prompto gets beer-battered fish and chips, which Luna also eyes with interest. Luna herself gets the chef’s selection of fresh oysters and smaller seafood — there’s some small fish and prawn thrown in, buttery and cooked to perfection. She forgoes forks and eats with her hands; it’s an indulgence that she’s not normally allowed, and the food is so bite-sized besides that it only makes sense. 

Noctis steals one of her oysters and slurps it down inelegantly, so Luna snags one of his crab legs in retaliation. Ignis offers her a bite of his risotto which she trades for another oyster, muttering pointedly at Noctis about “asking permission” and “bartering” as she does. This makes Gladio laugh — he lets her take bites of his seafood platter without asking for any of her food in return. Not that he would need to, given the sheer amount of food he has in front of him. Crowe sneaks bites of Luna’s fish and prawns and smiles and pecks her on the cheek whenever she gets caught doing it. Prompto shares his fish and chips with the table, but Luna makes sure to leave a piece from her own plate on his for every piece she takes. 

It’s probably the best meal Luna’s ever had. She’s laughing and talking with friends, eating seafood (and drinking the smallest bit of wine) by the sea as the sun goes down. Prompto talks excitedly about his plans for his summer photography project while Noctis bemoans the existence of online summer university classes and tries to secure Gladio’s help in writing essays on contemporary Lucian literature. The only thing that could make this better, she thinks, is if Cindy were here in person instead of on the other side of her phone — the call is on speakerphone so that they can all speak with Cindy while she does her own work in Hammerhead, and just the sound of her voice warms Luna from the inside out. 

They amble down the boardwalk back to the motel. Crowe takes Luna’s hand, running one finger back and forth over Luna’s ring. Prompto has his camera out, turning his lens on each of them, on the horizon, on the other people on the boardwalk, on the beach. Noctis and Gladio are indulging Ignis as the man essentially delivers a debrief about their meal, guessing at preparation techniques and seasonings and other things that quite honestly go over Luna’s head. It’s nice to see him so visibly excited about something, though. It’s nicer still to see the looks of sappy adoration that Gladio, Prompto, and Noctis are all directing towards him. 

Luna takes her time changing into more comfortable clothes to sleep in, even though she’s unlikely to go to sleep immediately — it’s late evening, but not that late. She takes the middle of the bed, Noctis and Crowe on either side of her. Noctis picks up where Crowe left off in teaching her how to play King’s Knight, and she finds herself getting the hang of it and leveling up quite quickly. Prompto joins in from the other bed, yelling encouragement to Luna and cheering her on with his eyes fixed to his own phone screen. Ignis and Gladio, drawn in by Prompto’s enthusiasm, join in on the game, too. 

They’re in the middle of a raid when they’re interrupted with a knock on the door. Prompto jumps, but recovers quickly and summons a gun from the Armiger in the same moment. Ignis summons daggers, too, and Crowe rolls off the bed and pulls a knife from her bag. They all move quickly and quietly — Prompto and Ignis take up positions on either side of the door, weapons at the ready, while Gladio uses his bulk to shield Noctis and Luna from easy view. Crowe peers through the peephole and then, with her knife held out of sight, slowly opens the door. 

There’s a man on the other side of it, wearing a large coat and a scarf and a hat. The whole get-up, quite frankly, looks absolutely ridiculous. Immediately, Prompto has his gun up and pointing at the man’s temple and Ignis has his daggers crossed over the man’s throat from behind. Crowe quickly closes and locks the door and then steps back, within arm’s reach of Gladio.

The man puts his hands up in surrender. “It’s just me,” he says, and everyone in the room, save for Luna, relaxes. Ignis moves his daggers away from the man’s throat. Prompto lowers his gun. Crowe relaxes her grip on her knife. Gladio moves aside so that Noctis and Luna come into view. The man unwinds the scarf from his neck and shrugs off his coat. He takes the hat off, too, and Luna finally gets her first good look at him. He has close-cropped dark hair and a short beard and crow’s feet around his eyes. 

“I’m afraid we haven’t had the chance to make our acquaintance, Lady Lunafreya,” the man says, smiling at her. 

“No,” Luna says cautiously, “I don’t believe we have.”

Noctis puts a hand on her arm. “It’s fine,” he assures her quietly. Then, louder, and grinning: “Luna, meet Cor Leonis. Cor, this is my  _ other _ best friend, Lady Luna.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i like to imagine prompto's disguise hairstyle as looking a little bit like versus xiii prompto bc that bitch was CUTE. anyways did u like my clumsy as hell bait and switch with cor. i just think the image of cor in ardyn-like clothes is very funny but i'm also very easily amused
> 
> on [twitter](https://twitter.com/criticaIhits) and [tumblr](https://sunprophets.tumblr.com)


End file.
